DOCSLIB.ORG

St. Teresa's Grades of Prayer

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
St. Teresa's Grades of Prayer St. Teresa’s Teaching on the Grades of Prayer by Jordan Aumann, O.P. When Pope Paul VI proclaimed St. Teresa of Ávila the first woman Doctor of the Church on September 27, 1970, he selected one of her many titles as the basis for conferrinG that honor on her: Teresa of Ávila, Teacher of Prayer. The same sentiment was expressed by Pope John Paul II in a letter to the Superior General of the Discalced Carmelite Friars to mark the fourth centenary of the death of Teresa: Teresa considered that her vocation and her mission was prayer in the Church and with the Church, which is a prayinG community moved by the Holy Spirit to adore the Father in and with Jesus “in spirit and in truth” (Jn 4:23).... Saint Teresa considered the life of prayer to be the Greatest manifestation of the theoloGical life of the faithful who, believinG in the love of God, free themselves from everythinG to attain the full presence of that love (L’Osservatore Romano, EnGlish edition, November 9, 1981). In all of her major works—The Life, The Way of Perfection, The Interior Castle—St. Teresa explains the practice of prayer. And it is noteworthy that she did not beGin to write until she was 47 years old, after her second conversion and when she was already well‐ versed in the practice of prayer. Her teachinG flows from her own experience and not from books on prayer. She does, however, acknowledGe her indebtedness to two authors: Francisco de Osuna, the author of The Third Spiritual Alphabet, and Bernardino de Laredo, the author of The Ascent of Mount Sion. The book by Osuna treated of the prayer of recollection, and St. Teresa states that she was “deliGhted with the book and resolved to follow that way of prayer with all my miGht” (cf. The Life, chap. 4).The treatise by Laredo described the prayer of union, to which St. Teresa had attained “after almost twenty years of experience in the practice of prayer” (cf. The Life, chap. 23). As we have noted, Teresa beGan writinG her first work, The Life, at the aGe of 47, and she finished it three years later. In that same year (1565) she beGan The Way of Perfection, since the nuns of the first monastery of the reform had asked her to teach them about mental prayer. In these first two works, St. Teresa concentrates on the ascetical Grades of prayer, but in The Interior Castle, written when she was 62 years old, she Gives detailed descriptions of the mystical Grades of prayer. Thus, in the Second Mansions of The Interior Castle she says: “I want to say very little to you about [the prayer of the Second Mansions] because I have written of it at lenGth elsewhere.” St. Teresa realized that not all souls travel by the same path to perfection, but that God leads souls by many different roads. At the same time she knew that in order to teach the theoloGy and practice of prayer, one has to follow a basic pattern or structure. The journey to spiritual perfection is a proGressive passaGe from the lower to the hiGher staGes of prayer, from ascetical to mystical prayer. And since St. Teresa treats only briefly of the lower Grades of prayer in her definitive work, The Interior Castle, it is necessary to turn to her two earlier works for a fuller description of the ascetical Grades of prayer. The Life In her first work St. Teresa explains the Grades of prayer by usinG the symbol of the “four waters,” or more precisely, the four methods of waterinG a Garden. The first method is by drawinG water from a well by means of a bucket attached to a rope. This is the first staGe —1— of prayer and it includes vocal prayer and discursive meditation. The individual is active, exercisinG the In the first stage of faculties and reapinG what benefit it can throuGh one’s own prayer— vocal prayer and efforts. But lest the beGinners think too much and turn discursive meditation — the their discursive meditation into an intellectual exercise, St. individual is active, Teresa advises them “not to spend all their time in doinG exercising the faculties and so. Their method of prayer is most meritorious, but since reaping what benefit it can they enjoy it so much, they sometimes fail to realize that through one’s own efforts. they should have some kind of a sabbath, that is, a period of rest from their labors.... Let them imaGine themselves, as I have suGGested, in the presence of Christ, and let them continue conversinG with him and deliGhtinG in him, without wearyinG their minds or exhaustinG themselves by composinG speeches to him” (The Life, chap. 13). The second method of waterinG a Garden is by means of a waterwheel to which dippers are attached. As the wheel is turned, the water is poured into a trouGh that carries the water to the Garden. St. Teresa explains that this staGe, in which “the soul beGins to recollect itself, borders on the supernatural.... This state is a recollectinG of the faculties within the soul, so that its enjoyment of that contentment may provide Greater deliGht” (The Life, chap. 13). The third type of waterinG a Garden is by irriGation by means of a runninG stream. It doesn’t call for human effort as in the two previous methods. Prayer at this staGe is mystical; that is, all the faculties are centered on God. “This kind of prayer,” says St. Teresa, “is quite definitely a union of the entire soul with God” (The Life, chap. 17). She calls it a “sleep of the faculties” because they are totally occupied with God. “Not one of them, it seems, ventures to stir, nor can we cause any of them to be active except by strivinG to fix our attention very carefully on somethinG else, and even then I don’t think we could succeed entirely in doinG so” (The Life, chap. 16). The fourth and final method for waterinG a Garden is by means of fallinG rain. This staGe of prayer is totally mystical, meaninG that it is infused by God and is not attained by human effort. It is called the prayer of union, and it admits of varyinG deGrees. The Grades of prayer described by St. Teresa in The Life do not correspond to the division of prayer that is usually Given in manuals of spiritual theoloGy. There are several reasons for this, and the first one is possibly the fact of the discrepancy of 15 years between her first and the last major work. Secondly, the precise terminoloGy to describe some the transitional Grades of prayer between discursive mental prayer and the prayer of the transforminG union did not come into common use until the seventeenth century. Thirdly, since she was writinG from her own experience, it is possible that St. Teresa had passed immediately from discursive meditation to a hiGh deGree of infused, mystical prayer. The Way of Perfection When we turn to The Way of Perfection, which St. Teresa beGan in 1565, we notice that there are some adjustments in One need not go to her division. Since the first nuns of the Teresian reform had heaven to speak to God, asked her to teach them about mental prayer, it is loGical that nor is it necessary to she would be more precise and detailed, especially when speak in a loud voice. speakinG of the earlier staGes of mental prayer. One of the most obvious differences in The Way of Perfection is that St. Teresa tries to distinGuish between the prayer of active recollection and the prayer of infused recollection. —2— In Chapters 28 and 29 she discusses the prayer of active recollection. After recallinG that St. AuGustine had said that he had looked for God in many places and finally found God within himself, St. Teresa asserts that one need not Go to heaven to speak to God, nor is it necessary to speak in a loud voice. “However quietly we speak, he is so near that he will hear us. We need no winGs to Go in search of him, but have only to find a place where we can be alone and look upon him present within us” (chap. 28). If one prays in this way, conversinG with God who dwells in the soul throuGh sanctifyinG Grace, even if the prayer is vocal, the mind will be recollected. It is called prayer of recollection because “the soul Gathers toGether all its faculties and enters within itself to be with its God” (loc. cit.). This may prove to be somethinG of a struGGle in the beGinninG, says St. Teresa, but if a person cultivates the habit of recollection, the soul and the will Gain such power over the senses that “they will only have to make a siGn to show that they wish to enter into recollection and the senses will obey and let themselves be recollected” (ibid.). When St. Teresa spoke of the prayer of recollection in Chapter 15 of The Life, she said that “this quiet and recollection...is not somethinG that can be acquired.” But in Chapter 29 of The Way of Perfection she says: “You must understand that this is not a supernatural state, but depends on our will, and that, by God’s favor, we can enter it of our own accord.... For this is not a silence of the faculties; it is an enclosinG of the faculties within itself by the soul.” In other words, it is an ascetical, acquired Grade of prayer, and not a mystical, infused Grade.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Acquired Contemplation Full
    THE ART OF ACQUIRED CONTEMPLATION FOR EVERYONE (Into the Mystery of God) Deacon Dr. Bob McDonald ECCE HOMO Behold the Man Behold the Man-God Behold His holy face Creased with sadness and pain. His head shrouded and shredded with thorns The atrocious crown for the King of Kings Scourged and torn with forty lashes Humiliated and mockingly adored. Pleading with love rejected Impaled by my crucifying sins Yet persisting in his love for me I see all this in his tortured eyes. So, grant me the grace to love you As you have loved me That I may lay down my life in joy As you have joyfully laid down your life for me. In the stillness I seek you In the silence I find you In the quiet I listen For the music of God. THE ART OF ACQUIRED CONTEMPLATION Chapter 1 What is Acquired Contemplation? Chapter 2 The Christian Tradition Chapter 3 The Scriptural Foundation Chapter 4 The Method Chapter 5 Expectations Chapter 6 The Last Word CHAPTER 1 WHAT IS ACQUIRED CONTEMPLATION? It will no doubt come as a surprise For the reader to be told that acquired contemplation is indeed somethinG that can be “acquired” and that it is in Fact available to all Christians in all walKs oF liFe. It is not, as is commonly held, an esoteric practice reserved For men and women oF exceptional holiness. It is now Known to possess a universal potential which all oF us can enjoy and which has been larGely untapped by lay Christians For niGh on 2000 years.
    [Show full text]
  • Being Contemplative in the Midst of Action
    - 1 - Being Contemplative in the Midst of Action To be contemplative in the midst of action – contemplativus in actione – is often held up as an ideal. We’ve seen that for Lallemant and his school contemplation is necessary for a fully fruitful apostolate. What is the connection between the two; what is the real link between action and contemplation? Our authors tell us that contemplation brings us closer to God, that contemplation forms us into better instruments of God. All that is true, and more could be said along those lines; but that still does not answer the question, Precisely how are they are linked? The best treatment of the question that I know, and one that I think proposes a precise answer to our question, is to be found in Jean-Joseph Surin’s Spiritual Catechism. This is a book that we know Fr Colin read and recommended. I’m not, however aware of any traceable influence on Jean-Claude Colin of the particular section of Surin’s Spiritual Catechism that I’m going to talk about. So I’m not, this time, going to try to show any links or provide parallel texts of Colin. I am assuming, however, that there is some kind of general influence on Colin, that something would have rubbed off; perhaps thorough research may reveal particular parallels but that’s not going to be our concern today. Instead I’m going to present Surin’s teaching for its own sake because I believe it to be of great value and importance. I can add that his Spiritual Catechism was greatly appreciated by Jacques and Raïssa Maritain and played a decisive role in their own Christian and spiritual growth (see R.
    [Show full text]
  • Chapter 12 Grades of Prayer
    Chapter 12 Grades of Prayer We are indebted to St. Teresa of Avila for the clearest and best classification of the grades of prayer. Her concept that the intensity of one's life of prayer coincides with the intensity of one's charity is based on solid theology and was confirmed by St. Pius X, who stated that the grades of prayer taught by St. Teresa represent so many grades of elevation and ascent toward Christian perfection.(1) These grades are (1) vocal prayer, (2) meditation, (3) affective prayer, (4) prayer of simplicity, (5) infused contemplation, (6) prayer of quiet, (7) prayer of union, (8) prayer of conforming union, and (9) prayer of transforming union. The first four grades of prayer belong to the predominantly ascetical stage of the spiritual life; the remaining five grades are infused prayer and belong to the mystical phase of the spiritual life. Vocal Prayer Although we classify the grades of prayer under the headings of ascetical and mystical, there may be mystical prayer in the early stages of the spiritual life, and there may be a return to ascetical activity on the part of souls who are well advanced in mystical ways. Hence what is meant by ascetical and mystical signifies that which is predominant and not that which is exclusive. Little remains to be said concerning vocal prayer, since much of what we have already written concerning the prayer of petition applies to the first grade of prayer. By vocal prayer we mean any form of prayer expressed in words, whether written or spoken.
    [Show full text]
  • PRAYER and the CULTIVATION of MIND: An
    PRAYER AND THE CULTIVATION OF MIND: An Examination of Thomas Merton and Chinul by Kun Ki Kang A noticeable current trend in religion has been a spirit of under­ standing between Buddhism and Christianity. Because of the needs of the time, the task of comparative study is not to be taken lightly. Within this framework the purpose of this essay is to examine Thomas Merton's under­ standing of prayer in comparison with Ch inul's doctrine of the Cultivation of Mind to find what similarities, as well as differences, exist between them.1 Thomas Merton, Trappist monk who is regarded as a bridge-builder between East and West, lived in twentieth century America while Chinul, Buddhist master who is considered the founder of the Zen tradition in Korea, lived there in the twelfth century. Differences between them are apparent in time and space as well as in faith. 1. This essay is based on Chapters Vand VI of my doctoral dissertation. See Kun Ki Kang, Thomas Merton and Buddhism: I\ Comparative Scudy of che Spiritual Though! of Thomas Merion and Thal of National Teacher Bojo (New York: New York University, 1979). 222 Kun Ki Kang Thomas Merton and Chinul 223 Yet, a common ground which makes this comparison possible can be the source of our physical life." 2 Merton's spirituality rests upon the fact found between the two masters. As persons of prayer and the cultivation of that we are the image of God and that we naturally are united with God. mind, they devoted their lives to finding their true selves and to sharing the Sin, according to Merton, is " our refusal to be what we were created fruits of their findings with others.
    [Show full text]
  • The Women Theologian and the Ideal of Christian Wisdom
    Santa Clara University Scholar Commons Jesuit School of Theology 10-14-1982 The omeW n Theologian and the Ideal of Christian Wisdom Sandra Marie Schneiders Jesuit School of Theology/Graduate Theological Union, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarcommons.scu.edu/jst Part of the Christianity Commons Recommended Citation Schneiders, Sandra Marie, "The omeW n Theologian and the Ideal of Christian Wisdom" (1982). Jesuit School of Theology. 148. https://scholarcommons.scu.edu/jst/148 This Unpublished Work is brought to you for free and open access by Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Jesuit School of Theology by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. I THE WOMEN THEOLOGIAN AND THE IDEAL OF CHRISTIAN WISDOM Teresa of Jesus, better known as St. Teresa of Avila, was born on March 28, 1515 and died on October 15, 1582, four- hundred years ago tomorrow. By any human standards this six- teenth century Spaniard was an extraordinary woman. Despite the restrictions placed on the education and the lifestyle of women in her time Teresa, who entered the cloistered religious Order of Mount Carmel at the age of twenty-one, not only achiev­ ed superlatively the ideals of the life she had chosen but vir­ tually single-handedly reformed the feminine branch of the Carmelite Order and cooperated with St. John of the Cross in the reformation of the masculine branch. While carrying out the arduous work of reformation, including the founding of new houses, the governing of local communities, and the administer­ ing of the affairs of the Reform, Teresa managed to write more than most professionals of our day produce in a lifetime and to serve as spiritual director for some of the most religiously talented people of her time, including her young collaborator John of the Cross.
    [Show full text]
  • Renewing an Ancient Christain Prayer Form: 'Centring Prayer'
    61 DIVINE CALL AND HUMAN RESPONSE Renewing an ancient christian prayer form: 'Centring Prayer' ONASTICISM was beginning to flourish in fifth-century Gaul, and in M response to an expressed need, St John Cassian produced two sets or collections of writings. The first, the Institutes, recounted the practices of the monks of Egypt and adapted them for use in the colder, western regions. In his second collection, he included what he considered the most significant teachings he had received in the course of his long pilgrimages among the monks of Egypt. These he presented in the form of Conferences given by various Fathers. In Abba Isaac's second conference we find the first written expression in the west of that tradition of which Centring Prayer is a contemporary presentation. The whole of Abba Isaac's magnificent Conference should be read. But let us here listen to just a few of the words of this wise old man, most directly related to our present concern: I think it will be easy to bring you to the heart of true prayer... I must give you a formula for contemplation. The formula was given us by a few of the older fathers who remained. They communicated it 0nly to a very few who were athirst for the true way. To maintain an unceasing recollection of God, this formula must be ever before you. The formula is this: 'O God, come to my assistance; O Lord, make haste to help me'. The mind should go on grasping this formula until it can cast away the wealth and multiplicity of other thoughts, and restrict itself to the poverty of this single word.
    [Show full text]
  • THE FULFILLMENT of ALL DESIRE a Guidebook for the Journey to God Based on the Wisdom of the Saints the IMPORTANCE of PRAYER
    ICC BIBLE STUDY FALL 2020 – SPRING 2021 Lesson 5: The Importance of Prayer Fall 2020 Kartika Refi RALPH MARTIN THE FULFILLMENT OF ALL DESIRE A Guidebook for the Journey to God Based on the Wisdom of the Saints THE IMPORTANCE OF PRAYER https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ykq3xvRs-CQ&t=1992s 12:40 – 13:03 IT IS ALL ABOUT RELATIONSHIP As we turn to God in conversion or in a deeper awakening, besides turning away from deliberate sin, which deforms the soul, blocks the relationship and offends the Person who has sacrificed His life for us, we need to positively build the relationship by paying attention to the One who loves us. Prayer is at root simply paying attention to God. All the saints speak of its importance. A RESPONSE Spiritual life is not about certain practices of piety and techniques of prayer, but about a relationship. It’s about responding to the One who has created and redeemed us, and who loves us with a love stronger than death, a love that desires to raise us from the dead. Much that is true of human relationship is also true of our relationship with God. Human relationships of friendship or marriage need time, attention, and care for them to continue and to grow. The same is true of our relationship with God. We have been called to union but we need to respond. THE POWER AND SIMPLICITY OF PRAYER St. Therese of Lisieux speaks of the power and simplicity of prayer: “How great is the power of Prayer…. I say very simply to God what I wish to say, without composing beautiful sentences, and He always understands me.
    [Show full text]
  • Desert Christianity and the Eastern Fathers of the Church
    Mendicantthe Desert Christianity and the Eastern Fathers of the Church This year in Daily Meditations I’m exploring my “Wisdom Roman Catholic churches, we have, in effect, excommuni- Lineage,” the teachers, texts, and traditions that have most cated one another. We are all losers. influenced my spirituality and teaching. (Read my introduction There are two major aspects to this neglected period of to the Wisdom Lineage in the January 2015 issue of The the early Christian church: the Desert Fathers and Mothers Mendicant at cac.org/about-cac/newsletter.) and the Eastern Fathers of the Church. —Richard Rohr, OFM After the legitimation and, some would say, the co-opt- ing of Christianity by Constantine he period of early in 313, many Christians fled to the Christianity, one deserts of Egypt, Palestine, Syria, of the key building and Cappadocia (Eastern Turkey). blocks in my lineage We call these men and women T of faith, is largely the Desert Fathers and Mothers, unknown and of and most of their names would be little interest to most Western unknown to mainline Christians. Christians. It is a blind spot for much of the Roman Church and for its child, Protestantism. With A brother who had sinned the self-sufficiency and arrogance was turned out of the church that has often characterized the by the priest. West, we have proceeded as if the first centuries of the Christian Abba Bessarion got up Church were unimportant, or and went out with him, saying, not a part of the essential Christ “I, too, am a sinner.” Mystery.
    [Show full text]
  • The Way of Perfection St
    The Way of Per fe c t i o n by St.Teresa of Avila The Way of Perfection St. Teresa of Avila Table of Contents About This Book. p. ii Title Page. p. 1 The Way of Perfection. p. 2 Presentation. p. 2 Contents. p. 2 Principal abbreviations. p. 5 Introduction. p. 5 Translator©s note. p. 10 General argument, protestations and prologue. p. 13 Protestations. p. 14 Prologue. p. 14 Of the reason which moved me to found this convent in such strict observance. p. 15 Treats of how the necessities of the body should be disregarded and of the good that comes from poverty. p. 17 Continues the subject begun in the first chapter and persuades the sisters to busy themselves constantly in beseeching God to help those who work for the Church. Ends with an exclamatory prayer. p. 19 Exhorts the nuns to keep their Rule and names three things which are important for the spiritual life. Describes the first of these three things, which is love of one©s neighbour, and speaks of the harm which can be done by individual friendships. p. 22 Appendix to chapter 4. p. 26 Continues speaking of confessors. Explains why it is important that they should be learned men. p. 27 Returns to the subject of perfect love, already begun. p. 29 Treats of the same subject of spiritual love and gives certain counsels for gaining it. p. 31 Treats of the great benefit of self-detachment, both interior and exterior, from all things created. p. 35 Treats of the great blessing that shunning their relatives brings to those who have left the world and shows how by doing so they will find truer friends.
    [Show full text]
  • St. Teresa of Avila and Prayer
    The Published Articles of Ernest E. Larkin, O.Carm. St. Teresa of Avila And Prayer St. Teresa of Avila and Prayer Prayer is the heart of Teresa of Avila’s experiences are not to be given exaggerated life and teaching, her “way of perfection.” importance. The pearl lies beneath them. For her, prayer is the supreme meaning and Even so marvelous an experience as the value of human existence, since it is the inner infused prayer of union in the “V Mansions,” life that animates the exterior, the journey in which God’s presence is felt within that is the journey into reality. incontrovertibly, finds its greatest value in the Prayer is life before it is an exercise, a fact that it proceeds from the conformity of dimension of being before it is an experience. the human will to God’s will (V M 3:3). In Prayer means to be in touch with the Center of other words progress is measured by the one’s life, who is “the Divine Majesty” quality of one’s life, suggested but not dwelling in his own rooms in the depths of the exhausted by the experiences. This quality of interior castle, the figure for ourselves. This life depends on how thoroughly one has contact deep within where we merge with God become centered in the divine Center. and are transformed into God-centered This essay attempts to present a brief persons makes us the “new creation” of portrait of prayer as centering in Teresa’s Pauline theology and the dwelling place of teaching, especially as found in The Interior God of Johannine writings.
    [Show full text]
  • Contemplative Prayer by Stephen Ing
    Contemplative Prayer by Stephen Ing What is it, where does it originate, and what are the potential dangers associated with it? Types of prayer • Verbal prayer – is probably the one most think of when we speak of prayer. It is verbalizing our thoughts, praises and requests to God. • Meditative prayer – is what is most often referred to when the word “meditate” is used in the Bible. It is the use of our thoughts and imagination and generally the left side of our brain to think about God and the Bible. • Contemplative prayer – closely related to and sometimes used interchangeably with centering prayer, has stages, in the last of which we are supposedly wholly one with God. It begins with silencing the left side of the brain and is often achieved through repetition of a phrase or word. It is said to be a supernatural gift, the ultimate goal or end of the journey in terms of our communication and relationship with God. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contemplative_prayer Verbal prayer • This is what Jesus taught his disciples in the Lord’s Prayer – Matthew 6:19-13 – Luke 11:1-4 • So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. Luke 11:9 NASB • In Gethsemane, Jesus prayed in anguish that He would not have to drink the cup. Matthew 26:36-44 • David said, “Hear my prayer, O God; Give ear to the words of my mouth.” Psalm 54:2 NASB • Jacob prayed for mercy and protection from Esau in Genesis 32:9- 12 • In Daniel 9, he prayed for forgiveness for Israel as he asked God to remember His
    [Show full text]
  • Contemplative Prayer Key Terms Related to Contemplative Prayer in Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross
    Study guide for Contemplative prayer Key Terms Related to Contemplative Prayer in Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross Consolations – a broad term referring to a variety of supernatural experiences with God. Also called “favors.” (What Charismatics might refer to as “encounters”). Contemplation – “a deep love communion with the triune God. By depth here we mean a knowing loving that we cannot produce but only receive. It is not merely a mentally expressed ‘I love You’. It is a wordless awareness and love that we of ourselves cannot initiate or prolong” (Dubay, Fire Within, 57). For John of the Cross, “The communication of God untied to the senses, or the particular, received passively by the spirit in an attitude of faith and love, of general loving attention. Also called mystical theology. May be referred to as infused because the soul receives it passively, just as one receives sunlight by doing no more than opening the shutters. Takes away the satisfaction associated with discursive [i.e., meditative] prayer” (See “Glossary of Terms” in The Collect Works of St. John of the Cross, 768.) Detachment – “The equivalent of poverty of spirit, refers to a freedom from the appetites [i.e., disordered longings/desires] so that the heart may be surrendered entirely to God in the union of faith, hope, and love” John of the Cross equates this to spiritual poverty (See “Glossary of Terms” in The Collect Works of St. John of the Cross, 768.) Faculties of the Soul – The three elements or operations of the human soul which make the soul human rather than animal.
    [Show full text]